I decided to fix the short-circuit on one of the points. The layout is DCC with electro-frog points; old school with Peco PL-10 and PL-15 switches. It was a little difficult to try and work under the baseboards. I also managed to break a wire connection which involved getting out the soldering iron. A quick dab of hot solder and all was well. As I continued to tinker with the PL-15, the round piece of plastic tube fell off which is affixed to the PL-10 metal rod which move the point blades. However, the point now works and the short-circuit is gone! These things are sent to test us!

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________

I am continuing to 'refresh' some of the layout - the embankment beyond the signal box now looks a little greener, but probably needs some variance in colour!

I also re-did some grass/hedges, though from this picture, it looks a little hairy!

and also on this lane too! - where are the scissors!

Digging through some boxes, I also found an old Mainline Patriot Class steam loco. 'Illustrious' 45532 - I haven't got round to chipping this locomotive, although it does run well. Nice and shiny too, but probably with old nylon gears and a split-chassis -

Lastly, and not to scale, I went to San Francisco last weekend and rode on the famous cablecars - something I haven't really seen modelled - it is pretty amazing how they work. Under the streets, there is a continuous cable running all the time in a massive loop. The operator in the cable car connects the cable car to the wire with a grabbing mechanism and off they go, releasing the wire when they have to slow down or stop.

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________

It's been a productive week at East Cheltwell - My 4MT Fowler 2-6-4 had been in a drawer for the best part of a couple of years after it appeared to be suffering from running issues and a short-circuit. I removed the engine and ensured it was totally isolated (which I suspect was perhaps part of the short-circuit issue?). I was going to use a Digitrax DH126D decoder I had , but there wasn't enough room so I opted for a much smaller DZ123 instead. Of course , I had a 'helper' as well!

Finally, after double-checking everything, I test ran and all was well. It was still a little hesitant on the layout. I adjusted the CV2, 5 and 6 values and probably the best thing was to clean the wheels; it really does make a difference to have clean wheels and clean track!

and here she is - a very smooth runner!I also took the liberty and lubricated the running gear. Two shots - with slightly different exposures.It was a nice day for doing some cleaning and running trains!

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________

I have been working on a couple of projects over this past week or so - I decided to take the plunge and try some weathering and really to see how things turn out - my subject was the rather shiny 4MT Fowler 2-6-4. I started with a spray of dullcote and then tried different weathering powders and experimented with some washes. It appears the 4MT jumped the tracks and went rallying! Still some work to be done -!!I also dug out some locomotives that haven't seen the light of day for a while - one a Hornby R 852 Ivatt Class 2 which I got of Ebay sometime back - It is practically brand-new and runs fairly well for its age -unfortunately, it's in that lurid green!I also have an old 7MT John O'Gaunt which came via Ebay from a trainpack. This is one of those older tender-driven ringfield models, but runs quite nicely. Having a spare decoder (Digitrax DH126D) I spent this afternoon chipping it - There seemed to be quite a few separate wires from the tender pick-ups as well as the connection with the engine; however, once the capacitor was sipped off, everything came together pretty well. I had read about some perils with the older ringfield motors, but this seemed very straight forward. It's nice to have another large engine!

and another picture, just because!

Next - I have ordered some point levers and ground signals as well as having a look at the Peco (static) point rodding to add some detail to the layout - was wondering if anyone has used the Peco point rodding?

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________

Thanks Gents! - there are quite a few "Model Railroad' clubs in the area - including the massive Columbia Gorge layout - (Click here) - I often visit WhistleStop Trains and The Hobby Smith which are my local model shops - great for scenic supplies and decoders, but everything else is ordered online.

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________

Next - I have ordered some point levers and ground signals as well as having a look at the Peco (static) point rodding to add some detail to the layout - was wondering if anyone has used the Peco point rodding?

I have used the Peco point rodding and it's a little fiddly to install but really improves a layout. Maybe plan out how you are going to install the rodding, where you need expansion joints etc. This can all be found online. The only issue I can see is that having already ballasted it will take you more time to install.

I have used the Peco point rodding and it's a little fiddly to install but really improves a layout. Maybe plan out how you are going to install the rodding, where you need expansion joints etc. This can all be found online. The only issue I can see is that having already ballasted it will take you more time to install.

Thanks Tim! - Yes, it looks like it is fiddly, but will probably add some realism. On that, I purchased these:and fixed it next to a point - later realizing how the tabs from the PL-10 point motor stick up!Something to think about when doing close-up pictures.I recently bought an old Hornby R338 Class 29 for the princely sum of £23. For a model made in 1982 or about 35 years old, it seemed to be alomost untouched and looked bran-new. Obviously there are faults with the headcodes over the front doors, grills and chassis - let alone the motor, I always had a soft spot for a 'Sad-Eyes' Class 29

I was pretty impressed the wheels looked like they had hardly any run time - but have the dreaded traction tyres.Next is to convert to DCC - nice looking loco - just wished I had checked the buffers were straight before taking any pictures! I am still working on refeshing scenery and taking stock of what needs doing - this is an underdeveloped part of the layout and perhaps should remain so.perhaps a slight greening up and a fence or hedge?

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________

Hi Eastern - There have been some saying that the lower body moulding (bevelled turnunder of the bottom of the body side, and fairing around the ends from the buffer beam) is more accurate on the old Hornby model than on the samples for the new Dapol model. If you waned to improve it there was a Monty Wells article in the Railway Modeller a good few years ago that shows ways to improve the model and I am told that the Bachmann class 25 chassis can be adapted to go under it. I have a copy of the article if you are interested.Personally I have two that are hard wired to run together, the improvement in performance is amazing as you have eight wheel pickup instead of four.

Jim

This Signature Left Intentionally Blank, but since I have written this and I intended to do it, this Signature is intentionally not blank. Paradox or What?My layout - Gateside and Northbridge

Thanks Jim - Thanks for the offer and info - I have read up on several articles particularly using the Bachmann 25 chassis on RM Web. Currently, it is a great runner, but needs more pick-ups - I would be interested to see a picture of the two you have hard wired together.

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________

Hi Jim- meant to thanks for the pics Our Oil furnace (boiler) decided to stop working permanently after 61 years and so we have been working with the contractors and electricians and gas men to upgrade the whole system to the 21st century! We just have to decommission the 675 gallon tank buried in the back garden! Provided it hasn't leaked It usually is filled with a mix of slurry and sand and then left in place. Ah - the joys of homeownership which detracts from working on the layout!

I have been working on that piece of open grassland and generally cleaning it up - really there should be a fence to stop trespassing on the railway, but I have started with a hedge. The base is some polyfibre and a little scatter as well as some static grass - (and some smelly hairspray!)

I also acquired a rather nice Hornby R2249a 2-8-0 8F for the princely sum of £37 which seemes like a good deal - it is practically brand-new with a bag of detail parts to add (and of course a decoder at some point) I have leaned towards the Western region, so its a refreshing change! It looks like the 'doors' need closing!

Have a good week to all!

Sunny afternoon!

“Sir, Sunday morning, although recurring at regular and well foreseen intervals, always seems to take this railway by surprise.” William S Gilbert__________________________